Members of the Colorado Economic Development Commission — seeking to boost Colorado Springs’ chances of actually building four new attractions under the Regional Tourism Act — awarded the city $120.5 million in state tax incentives Monday.

That award was more than double the $53.1 million recommended by a third-party analyst and the staff of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. It surpasses the $81.3 million granted Aurora for the more expensive Gaylord conference hotel last year.

“This makes it more likely the project is completed successfully,” said J.J. Ament, a member of the commission.

Pueblo has been unable to raise financing in the bond markets for its convention center expansion, and Aurora’s hotel project is tied up in litigation.

This year there was only one applicant. Colorado Spring stepped forward with its City for Champions proposal to build a new visitors center at the Air Force Academy, a sports medicine and performance center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a U.S. Olympic Museum and sports center downtown.

The $120.5 million award is an estimate based on the city receiving 13.1 percent of the net new state sales taxes generated over 30 years.

Economic & Planning Systems, a third-party analyst the state hired, recommended an increment of 6.14 percent, based on a lower forecast of new out-of-state visits the attractions would draw.

Because El Paso County and Colorado Springs were going to base their incentives off the state’s formula, the project would have been short by about $54.3 million of the $250.6 million needed to fund construction, said Chris Jenkins, president of Nor’wood Development Group.

Howard Gelt, a commission member who made the motion to go with the higher incentive number, said there was no point in approving an award that made the project a nonstarter.

“This is hard money to bond with,” he said, adding that the commission had no reason to doubt the estimates the city’s consultants provided.

Ken Lund, the state’s economic development chief, said he and his staff took the position they considered the most protective of the state’s interests.

But he added that the commission acted within its scope of authority, and he called the process open, fair and transparent.

The City for Champions has five years to show substantial progress and 10 years to complete all four venues or refund the incentives received, along with a 7 percent penalty on those not built.

Jenkins said those timetables can be met and that the Olympic museum and the sports medicine center were the two venues furthest along. Backers also expect to have a more detailed proposal drafted within 120 days to finalize the incentive award.

Aldo Svaldi has worked at The Denver Post since 2000. His coverage areas have included residential real estate, economic development and the Colorado economy. He's also worked for Financial Times Energy, the Denver Business Journal and Arab News.